I just wash and rence .sterlizing was part of the process used when people just poured the boiling tomatoes into the jars titened the lids and didn't prosess in the hot water bath or when they canned pickels .I don't think this is recomended for either any more .personally I even put jelly through a hot water bath .

I have not found a book that says to sterilize unless the processing time is under 10mn. They ALL say to warm up the jars to prevent heat shock and I think people mistake that for sterilization (which is in boiling water/steam for 10 mn).

I sterilize jars/lids when making yogurt, but that is to be sure I don't have unwanted competition with the yogurt cultures.

As to the bathroom issue, not to wipe but to wash your hands first - especially men - who knows what you've got on your hands that you are now getting on rather delicate skin. Those areas aren't protected with thick skin like your hands - just ask someone who has cut up hot peppers and gone to the bathroom without washing their hands first.

I have not found a book that says to sterilize unless the processing time is under 10mn. They ALL say to warm up the jars to prevent heat shock and I think people mistake that for sterilization (which is in boiling water/steam for 10 mn).

I agree with Macybaby. Unless you are processing something for under 10 minutes, you do not need to sterilize the jars. I believe that is the recent recommendation from the USDA?

I do wash them very well and heat them to a simmer just to make sure they do not suffer shock and break when they are filled with the hot food and stuck in the canner with boiling/almost boiling water. The lids are never supposed to be boiled (sterilized) either because it can ruin the sealing compound.

Some people just like to do stuff like that. Just like my mother-in-law who always washes her dishes before she puts them in the dishwasher. Seems like a waste of time and resources, but it evidently makes her feel good.

The women pulls a pot roast out the fridge and cuts the ends of before puting it into a pot. The friend asks why she cut the ends off. The women says "that's the way my mom did it. Frenid says we should call your mom and ask her why. They call the mom and the mom says "that's the way my mom did it". So they call G-ma. They ask G-ma why she cuts the ends off of th epoast raost before cooking. G-ma says "that's the way i used to do it but now a have a bigger pot".